Lens hood



May 30,1944. I H. J HOO 2,350,110

LENS 'HOOD Filed June 19, 1941 HENRYJ H000 IN V EN TOR A TORNEYS Patented May 30, 1.944

Henry J. Hood. Rochester. N. 'Y., Eastman Kodak Company, Roe

assignor to heater, N. Y"

a corporation of New Jersey Application June 19, 1941, Serial No. 398,789

1 Claim. (Cl. ss-i) The present invention relates to lens hoods adapted for use with photographic cameras.

One object of the invention is the provision of an expansible and collapsible lens hood.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lens hood of the class described which may be collapsed into a relatively flat compact unit suitable for storing or shipping yet which may be readily moved to its expanded or operative position when desired.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a lens hood the parts of which are so proportioned that the its collapsed or expanded position until positively moved therefrom.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a lens hood which is simple and rugged in construction, and highly eiiective in use.

To these and other ends, the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claim at the end of the specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a camera of the roll film type, showing the relation thereto of the lens hood of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the unitary flexible members of the lens hood, showing the relation and proportions to the various parts thereof;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the complete lens hood in the expanded or op-' erative position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, and showing the lens hood in the collapsed or retracted position;

Fig. 5 is a partial view of the expanded lens hood illustrated in Fig. 3 and on a larger scale than the latter, showing in detail the relative relation and sizes of the various parts; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but with the parts folded or collapsed to form a relatively hat and compact unit.

Similar reference numerals throughout the various views indicate the same parts.

The lens hood of the present invention is shown in connection with a camera ii provided with an objective lens mount I! on which the lens hood, generally indicated by the numeral i3 and later more fully described, may be detachably mounted. While the hood of the present invention is shown in connection with a roll fllm camera of the non-folding type, this is by way of illustration only, as it is apparent that such a lens hood is adapted for use with a wide variety of camera designs.

The preferred embodiment of the lens hood is 7 generally frusto-conical in shape, and'is formed hood will remain in either will slightly bulge or expand radially.

from a single piece of rubber or other suitable flexible material to provide a pair of annular members or rings I4 and II which extend substantially axially of the hood, and a pair of inclined members or side wall portions l6 and II which extend at an angle to the rings l4 and II,

as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The ring it is larger in diameter than the ring ii and is spaced both radially and axially therefrom when the hood is in its extended position, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 5, but is arranged to overlie and to be substantially concentric therewith when the hood is collapsed, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The rear or small end of the wall member II is formed to provide a portion II which is in alignment with the member I1 when the hood isfirst formed. as shown in Fig. 2, but is then bent to'extend radially when the hood is completed, as shown in Figs. 3, and 6, and to be later described.

The wall members It and H are connected to the rings H and I5 and the radial portion It by member II which afford, in effect, hinges by which the various members may be moved relative to each other from the expanded position shown in Fig. 3, to the collapsed position shown in Fig. 4, or vice versa. The wall members it and I! are preferably, but not necessarily, thinner than the rings i4 and II. In order to facilitate the ready collapsing and expanding of the hood, the portions ll, which form hinge connections, are, howeventh thinnest in cross section so as to permit ready flexing oi the portions ll during the expanding and collapsing operation, as will be apparent from inspection of Figs. 5 and 6. The above-described hood parts are all formed from a single sheet or piece of rubber or other suitable flexible material.

when a lens hood of the type so far described is collapsed, the. outer or larger annular ring M when, however, the hood is released, the ring M will spring back to its normal diameter. This springing back of the ring I4, together with the flexibility of the hinges ll, may cause the collapsed hood parts to explode or quickly move to their expanded or operative positions, as shown in Fig. 2. This is particularly true if the ring I4 is made relatively thin in cross-section, as shown in the drawing. when such a thin ring is used, it is desirable to provide a reinforcing member for the ring so as to limit or restrict this bulging so that the hood will remain and will be self supporting in its collapsed position and will not need to be positively so held.

To secure this result, the outer surface 26 of the ring H is provided with a circumferential dovetail groove or slot 2| adapted to receive a similarly shaped confining ring 22 which is held in position in the slot 2| as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 6, In order to prevent this radial or axial bulging of the ring I when the hood is collapsed, the inner surface 23 of the ring 22! is made of a diameter which is slightly less than the outer diameter of the surface 26 of the ring I. While the preferred design utilizes a ring I of relatively thin cross-section and reinforced by the confining of ring 22, it is contemplated that the ring I! may be made of such a thickness as not to necessitate additional reinforcing in which case the ring 22 may be eliminated. The front edge of the ring l4 may be provided with an annular bead 24 which acts as a baille to reduce the reflection of light rays from the inner surface of the hood. I

A second confining ring 26 rests on the inner annular edge 21 of the radial portion l6. The outer surface 28 of the ring 26 is of a diameter slightly greater than that of the edge 21, and thus tends to slightly push or urge the portion [8 outwardly, or radially. The net result is that when the hood is folded, the portion l8 will be maintained in a substantially radial position, as shown in Fig. 6, so that'the flexibility of the portion l1 and the hinge I9 between the latter and the portion is will not tend to move the portion 18 to the right, as shown in Fig. 6, but will enable the portion l8 to remain in its radial position, the advantages of which will be readily apparent. The confining ring 26 thus cooperates with the first confining ring 22 to releasably retain the lens hood in the collapsed position without being positively so held.

The confining ring 26 is provided with a pair of spaced annular flanges 29 and 30 which extend outwardly and are arranged to be pressed into clamping relation with the sides of the portion Hi to securely retain the ring 26 thereto. An annular mounting ring 33 projects axially from the confining ring 26 and is adapted to be detachably mounted on the lens mount l2 to secure the lens hood thereto. In the present embodiment, the

It is contemplated, however, that the surface of the ring 33 may be smooth so as to slidably engage the lens mount I2.

mg relatively movable to It is apparent from an inspection of Fig. 5 that when the hood I! is in the erected position, the connecting wall members l6 and I! are inclined to the right of the vertical, as shown in Fig.- 5. However, when the hood is collapsed, the members l6 and I l are inclined to the left of the vertical, as shown in Fig. 6. The members l6 and I! are thus inclined in opposite directionswhen folded, Fig. 6, and when expanded, Fig. 5. Furthermore, when being folded, the members l6 and I! pass through and beyond the vertical or dead-center position, so that when the hood is collapsed the members l6 and I! have passed beyond the dead-center position and are, in effect, locked in the collapsed position. By thus swinging the wall members I6 and I! beyond their dead-center position, the hood parts are self-supporting in either the collapsed or expanded positions and need not be positively so held, as in prior forms of collapsible hoods.

The present invention thus provides a lens hood which may be readily collapsed into a small compact unit, and which will remain in the collapsed position without being positively held, yet which may be readily and easily moved to the expanded or operative position when so desired in which position it will also remain.

While one. embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A collapsible lens hood comprising a bellowslike member formed to provide a plurality of con centric cylindrical portions of different diameters, inclined portions of decreasing mean diameter connected to said cylindrical portions, the smallest of said inclined portions'terminating in a radially extending portion, said portions becollapse said hood, a confining ring mounted on and of slightly less diameter than the cylindrical portion of largest diameter, and a second confining ring mounted on and of slightly greater diameter than said radial portion and cooperating with said first ring to maintain said portions in self-supporting relation when said hood is collapsed.

HENRY J. HOOD. 

